The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down public school choice plans in Seattle, Washington, and Louisville, Kentucky. The court ruled the two cases relied on an unconstitutional use of racial criteria, reflecting the deep legal and social rift over the issues of race, affirmative action and education.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday that "mistakes were made" in the dismissals of several federal prosecutors, but rejected Democrats' calls for his resignation on the same day that his chief of staff stepped down.

A federal jury Tuesday found I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby guilty of obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury in the investigation into how Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative was exposed.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down public school choice plans in Seattle, Washington, and Louisville, Kentucky. The court ruled the two cases relied on an unconstitutional use of racial criteria, reflecting the deep legal and social rift over the issues of race, affirmative action and education.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday that "mistakes were made" in the dismissals of several federal prosecutors, but rejected Democrats' calls for his resignation on the same day that his chief of staff stepped down.

A federal jury Tuesday found I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby guilty of obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury in the investigation into how Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative was exposed.

And so we were off ... boxes packed, edible goodies in ample supply, camera batteries charged, ourselves recharged with energy drinks -- the crew left Mecca and headed for the Arafat plain, where today the pilgrims would perform the most important rite, standing from sunrise to sunset in supplication.

Christmas came today: but not for everyone on the team. The unlucky, grounded crew members were left in a pique as Adil, grinning like a Cheshire cat, left the hotel with our driver in the early hours this morning.

Arriving in the evening of December 20 in this hot, desert kingdom, laden with a train of boxes bearing some 280 kg of camera equipment, and some vague notions of a "schedule" to be adhered to, your ideals are dispelled as soon as you set foot in the arrivals lounge at King Abdul-Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

With the war on terror a top campaign issue in midterm elections, President Bush has declassified key findings of an intelligence report after parts of it were leaked findng the Iraq war is fueling terrorism.

President Bush warned on Friday that a CIA interrogation program for terror suspects is in jeopardy unless Congress approves his proposals seeking to reinterpret America's application of the Geneva Conventions.

British authorities have arrested at least 21 people suspected of plotting to blow up passenger jets heading from Britain to the United States. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the plans were "suggestive of an al Qaeda plot."

The Lebanese have endured more than a week of Israeli airstrikes. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Wednesday that the conflict so far has caused "immeasurable loss": more than 300 people have been killed in Lebanon, 1,000 have been wounded and 500,000 displaced. Beirut has been hit particularly hard.

Gen. George Casey, the U.S. commander in charge of coalition forces in Iraq, projects large reductions in the 127,000-member American force in Iraq, starting in September and continuing through 2007, according to a New York Times report.

CNN's Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour told CNN news anchors Michael Holmes and Adrian Finighan that the death of Abu Masab al-Zarqawi is an important step -- but will not stop the Iraq insurgency.

To get away from the public scrutiny that befits one of the world's most famous showbiz couples, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie decamped to Swakpomund -- a sleepy little town on the southwest coast of Africa.

A powerful earthquake in Indonesia has killed more than 5,000 people and left thousands more injured, many critically. CNN correspondent Dan Rivers visited one hospital to see how overwhelmed medics are coping with casualties from the disaster.

A massive fire broke out at Turkey's Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul on Wednesday, forcing hundreds to flee as huge plumes of black smoke darkened the sky. CNN's Miles O'Brien spoke to CNN producer Kaya Heyse at the scene of the blaze for "American Morning" shortly after 9 a.m. ET.

Baghdad bureau director Cal Perry and correspondent Ryan Chilcote recently followed the surgeons of the Army's 10th Combat Support Hospital as they fought to save lives in the chaotic aftermath of combat.

Vice President Dick Cheney is in Eastern Europe, where he angered Russian officials with a speech that accused President Vladimir Putin of backsliding on democracy and trying to intimidate its neighbors.

With Zacarais Moussaoui headed for lifetime confinement at a federal prison for a minor role in the 9/11 attacks, the question arises of what will happen to the alleged planners who are in U.S. custody.

The jury in the case of al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui recommended Wednesday that he should receive life in prison rather than the death penalty for his role in the attacks of September 11, 2001, on the United States.

As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld made their surprise visits to Baghdad on Wednesday, many of the troops stationed north of Baghdad, in Balad and Dujail, say either they didn't know about it or didn't care.

A day after large pro-immigration rallies were held in more than 70 cities across the nation, Miles O'Brien talks Tuesday with CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider about the rallies' potential effects on the contentious congressional debate over immigration reform and the upcoming mid-term elections.

Four U.S. presidents -- including President George W. Bush -- were among the luminaries at Coretta Scott King's funeral Tuesday. Among some speakers' accolades and tributes to the civil rights icon were criticisms of the current administration's actions -- the war in Iraq and domestic eavesdropping.

The White House has begun a new push to justify a controversial domestic spying program that allows the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on conversations to or from the United States without obtaining a court warrant.

CNN Jerusalem correspondent Guy Raz is among the world's media, waiting for news of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's condition following a major stroke and considering the global impact of Israel's political upheaval.

President Bush said Monday that a program designed to eavesdrop on the international calls involving U.S. citizens suspected of being involved with al Qaeda is legal under an measure enacted by Congress shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

An angry group of Iraqis chased former interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and his bodyguards from a Shiite shrine Sunday in the city of Najaf. Police fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd.

Veteran Israeli politician and former prime minister Shimon Peres has left his Labor Party and offered support to former rival Ariel Sharon. CNN's Jerusalem correspondent Guy Raz assesses what led to the move and what effect it may have on Israeli politics and the peace process.

The CIA leak probe is again making headlines, with the prosecutor planning to seek a new grand jury and journalist Bob Woodward's admission that a senior Bush administration official talked about CIA agent Valerie Plame weeks before her identity became public.

Protests and memorials dotted the Jordanian landscape Thursday, the day after three suicide bombers blew themselves up at separate hotels here. Fifty-nine people, including the three attackers, were killed in the blasts and more than 100 were wounded.

President Bush on Monday nominated Circuit Court Judge Samuel Alito to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Alito, a former U.S. attorney who has been a judge for 15 years, is considered a favorite of conservatives.

The special prosecutor in the CIA leak investigation was expected to ask the grand jury to indict Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, according to a lawyer involved in the case.

President Bush Thursday outlined his vision of the war on terror in what the White House billed as a "major" policy address. CNN correspondent Suzanne Malveaux reported live outside the White House after Bush's address, speaking with anchor Daryn Kagan.

President Bush moved quickly Monday to fill the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist Saturday. Bush nominated federal Judge John Roberts to the nation's top judicial post.

Unarmed Israeli soldiers entered two synagogues in Jewish settlements on Thursday after hundreds of protestors refused to evacuate the building. The emotional evictions come as Israel ends its 38-year presence in Gaza.

CNN Correspondent Elaine Quijano is in Scotland where the G-8 is meeting. She talked with CNN's Soledad O'Brien about President Bush's reaction to four explosions in London's transport system Thursday.